Evaluation of antioxidant and antibacterial potential of honey produced from stimulative diet fed bee colonies

Abstract

Bee's honey is one of the greatest natural gifts to humankind, and Indian Ayurveda emphasises the various applications of honey, viz. obesity, burns, cuts, wounds, dermatitis etc. However, all the applications of honey are based on their chemical composition, but they vary depending upon the botanical, geographical origins, and bee feed. With this background, the current study aimed to evaluate the quality of honey produced by the stimulative diets ingested by honey bees (Apis mellifera). At the onset, stimulative diets were served to honey bees for 1 year, and an adequate volume of honey samples was collected before and after the ingestion of stimulative diets. After that, the honey samples were used to study the antioxidant activity and antibacterial potential as per standard protocol. The results revealed that the antioxidant activity of post-feeding honey samples exhibited a higher rate, i.e., 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) (Pre-feeding: 88.06 ± 0.214 and post-feeding: 91.79 ± 0.609 μmol/litre), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) (Pre-feeding: 20.55 ± 0.336 and post-feeding: 29.01 ± 1.114%), and ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) (Pre-feeding: 0.296 ± 0.039 and post-feeding: 0.396 ± 0.001 mg TE/100 gm). Similarly, a high rate of antibacterial efficiency was shown in post-feeding honey samples against E. coli at a concentration of 800 µg/mL. It was shown with considerable antibacterial activity against Salmonella enterica as well. Overall, we have demonstrated honey's antioxidant and antibacterial effects and may have therapeutic potential as honey.